


Boston Police and the FBI worked together to finally identify a man stabbed to death in 1991.
“For thirty-three years, the victim’s identity was unknown, but investigators recently identified him as Toussaint Gonsalves,” the Boston Police Department wrote in a statement about the discovery.
The BPD says Gonsalves was born on Oct. 2, 1970. When he was stabbed to death in late 1991, at age 21, he was 5-foot-11 and 225 pounds, with short cropped hair and brown eyes.
Police found his remains in the Boston Harbor near Thompson Island, according to the BPD. He was wearing a heavy gray multi-colored knit sweater and a blue, white and green rugby shirt with black pants. The FBI says he “had three irregular scars on the back of his left hand and shaved eyebrows.”
“Mr. Gonsalves’ identification is a direct result of the FBI’s use of investigative genetic genealogy, a unique method used to generate new leads in unsolved homicides, sex assaults, and other violent crimes,” the BPD wrote. “It combines the use of DNA analysis with traditional genealogical research and historical records to generate investigative leads. Investigators only obtain what any other customer using a publicly accessible genealogical service would receive from using it.”
Now that he has been identified, investigators have determined he attended the former Boston High School and may have been living in Newton or Dorchester at the time of his murder and may have been working in a kitchen.
Police ask that anyone with any information on Gonsalves’ murder to contact homicide detectives at 617-343-4470. Anonymous tips can be submitted through the CrimeStoppers tip line by calling 1-800-494-TIPS (8477) or by texting “TIP” to CRIME (27463).
The FBI says that tips can be submitted to them by contacting your local FBI office or the nearest American embassy or consulate, or by submitting an anonymous tip online through their portal at tips.fbi.gov.